A panel of federal appellate judges unanimously ruled Thursday that Detroit's practice of seizing people's cars for months at a time before giving them a chance to contest the seizure violates vehicle owners' 14th Amendment right to due process.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, agreeing with a lower U.S. district court, found that Michigan's Wayne County, which includes Detroit, "violated that Constitution when it seized plaintiffs' personal vehicles—which were vital to their transportation and livelihoods—with no timely process to contest the seizure."
